Multan is one of the oldest and largest cities of old Punjab. It was one of the most powerful cities of the world. It was said that it may be easy to capture Lahore and Delhi as well but not Multan. The Fort of Multan was one of the strongest forts of the world. Now, we will see about the conquest of Multan by Shere-e-Punjab Maharaja Ranjeet Singh.
Sikh Army had invaded Multan thrice but did not capture it. Maharaja Ranjeet Singh sent his 25000 brave warriors under the command of his eldest son Prince Kharak Singh. He was accompanied with various commanders like Misar Diwan Chand, Sardar Fateh Singh Ahluwalia, Sardar Sham Singh Attariwala, Jafer Jang, Sardar Dal Singh Naherna, Sardar Amir Singh Sandhawalia, Sardar Dhanna Singh Malwaee and Sardar Desa Singh Majithia. The greatest Hero of Sikh Army Sardar Hari Singh Nalwa also joined. The most powerful and heaviest cannons Zamzama and Jang-i-Bijli were also deployed. This time the army aimed at capturing fort at any cost. The Sikh Army began marching on January, 1818.
Nawab Muzzafar Khan of Multan also made preparations for the war. He raised the Jihad flag and countless Ghazis joined him. His own army consisted of 20,000 soldiers. His army solidified the fort and dug their trenches intelligently. Multan was having a large quantity of artillery which had made it seem like an invincible city.
In the beginning, he did not check the Khalsa Army according to his planning. But as a result of advancement of Khalsa Army he was pushed back into the city. He closed all the entrance gates of the city. The Khalsa army encircled the city and launched an attack of heavy artillery. The war continued for 6 days without any result. Then they planned to mine blast the walls. They dig up the trenches and were ready to blast walls with mines. But rain began at that time. So they had to renew this job after rain and then mine blasted the walls. Finally, they succeeded in cracking one of the walls. So continued shelling by heavy artillery was done at that wall. The cavalry took the advantage when the wall exploded and advanced into the city. A fierce battle was fought. Both sides fought valiantly but the Multan Army was again pushed back into the Multan fort.
This fort was one of the most powerful forts of the world. The fort walls were made by filling up the space between two walls with sand. So, it was not possible to explode this fort wall easily. The Khalsa Army seized the fort for three months in hot summer. Many animals died. Both sides had suffered heavy losses. There was no hope left for Sikh Army.
After suffering so many casualties, Maharaja Ranjeet Singh left for Amritsar to get help from Akali Phula Singh Ji, the leader of Buddha Dal Nihangs and the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib. On learning about losses suffered by Khalsa Army, Akali Ji said,” O sustainer of Dogras, why you didn’t tell me earlier. Why have you put Khalsa in such precarious situation? All the same, the army is ready to go to battlefield. Guru willing, we will return after unfurling the Akali Flag on the fort of Multan“. So, Akali Baba Phula Singh Ji arrived at Multan with his 500 warriors.
Maharaja Ranjeet Singh also went Brahmgiani Baba Bir Singh Ji Naurangabad to seek for his blessings. He payed his respect to Baba Ji and asked him to do Ardaas for success of Khalsa.
Maharaja Ranjeet Singh too left for Multan with a pledge that he will return only after unfurling the Khalsa Flag over the Multan Fort.
During the firing, one of the wheels of Zamzama broke out. This was the most powerful and the only cannon that could break the wall. So, in order to support the cannon, Sikhs decided to support it by their shoulders. This was a sure death. Astonishingly, this lead to quarrel between them, as all of them wanted to support the cannon. Finally, a Sikh Officer arrived and said that first he will support, then the soldier standing to his right side will support, then soldier in his left side and so on. He supported and cannon fired but due to heavy backward force of cannon he attained martyrdom. This continued for sometime and finaly the wall broke out.This interesting event has been accounted by Munshi Ghulam Jillani in his ‘Jangnama Multan’.
So, after the wall was broken, Akali Phula Singh Ji raising the slogans of 'Akal! Akal!' marched into the fort. There is a bit controversy over it that Akali Sadhu Singh Ji led the attack instead. But Akali Phula SIngh Ji seems to be more accurate. The Nawab had also made further security arrangements with sandbags. But this could not resist the Nihang warriors for long. Soon, Shaizada Kharak Singh also attacked with his army. A fierce battle was fought. The Khalsas as well as Ghazis both fought valiantly. The Nawab himself came into the battlefield with his sons and nephews. He was involved in face to face fight with Akali PhulaSingh Ji. Akali Ji killed him. His elder son Shah Nawaz Khan attacked Akali Ji but in the meantime Sardar Sham Singh Attariwala and Sardar Dhanna Singh Malwaee reached and he was also killed. The Ghazis were overpowered and lost their stability. And the Khalsa Flag was unfurled over the Multan Fort on June,1818.
After the conquest of Multan, this victory turned into a celebration.Deepmala was done in Amritsar and Lahore for 8 days. The soldiers and officers who contributed in this battle were rewarded with gold luxuries worth 400-500 rupees. All the valiant Sardars were given high prizes and Jagirs. Maharaja Ranjeet Singh did not forget to do the most important work. And that was paying respect and gratitude to Waheguru for his glorious victory.
Thanks for sharing this great piece of sikh history. I would like to have clarification that the gun used to break the wall was Zamzama or the one of Bhangian misl. As per given knowledge Zamzama and Jang e Bijli were already there but this Bhangian misl gun was brought later. Kindly enlighten on this please.
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